In the past, suture retainers in many configurations have been provided to aid in the handling of suture material during sterilization and packaging and/or to retain the suture in a specific configuration to facilitate dispensing of the suture from the suture package. Sutures within such retainers are sterilized and further packaged in a heat sealed outer package which maintains the suture's sterility. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,939,969 and 4,249,656 disclose suture retainers which aid in the handling, sterilization, and dispensing of the sutures contained therein, and which may be contained in a heat sealed outer package.
Suture retainers, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,249,656 and 3,444,994 often are provided with holes or openings to receive suture winding pins so that the suture may be wound within the retainer. Suture materials secured within a retainer with pin holes remain exposed to the environment through the pin holes and often are subject to degradation from environmental conditions; for example, heat, light, humidity and specifically, the heat in the heat sealing process very often used to heat seal and form the outer sterile package. In commonly assigned co-pending Patent application Ser. No. 273,804 filed June 15, 1981, there is disclosed a package which protects a suture from being exposed to undesirable environmental conditions through the pin holes by providing a sliding panel which covers the pin holes when the retainer is finally folded.
In packaging suture materials, including needled sutures, where the suture material is subject to degradation from environmental conditions, it is desirable to protect the suture material from the undesirable environmental conditions to which it might be exposed when forming the final package. The package should have the needle and the suture material separated so that no damage can be done to one by the other. Also, for economic and manufacturing means, the package should be usable with various size needles and suture materials. The package should be constructed so as to be usable with suture materials which have a lot of spring or memory and tend to spring away from a tightly wound configuration.
What I have discovered is a suture retainer which maintains the needle and the suture material attached thereto separate to reduce damage caused to one by the other. In my improved retainer, I can package various sized needles and I can package suture material which has a lot of spring or memory. My new retainer protects the suture material from being degraded especially by heat during subsequent sterilization and packaging of the retainer. Other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description.